KANYE VS. J. COLE, ROUND 3: In its third week on the charts, J. Cole’s Born Sinner slides up one spot to No. 1, earning the North Carolina rapper his second No. 1 album. He did so with 58,000 sales, the weakest sales frames for a No. 1 album in nearly a year. But more significantly, Sinner pushes past Kanye West’s Yeezus (No. 3 this week) in overall sales, with a three-week total of 439,000 to Yeezus’ 431,000. Both titles were released June 18 on what was dubbed Super Tuesday for hip-hop, with Mac Miller‘s Watching Movies with the Sound Off also in the mix. (Miller’s album is No. 23 on this week’s chart and has sold 138,000 copies to date.) Yeezus won the initial battle but J. Cole has had better staying power, even though his No. 1 reign will be short-lived due to the pending arrival of his mentor Jay-Z‘s Magna Carta Holy Grail. Still, Cole deserves credit for his feat. Clap for him. (To watch J. Cole’s performance at last week’s VH1 PhillyJam, head to the 1 hour and 10 minute mark of the video above!)

“BLURRED LINES” HOLDS NO. 1: Over on the Digital Songs chart, Robin Thicke continues his hold on No. 1, as his “Blurred Lines” (featuring T.I. and Pharrell) shows no signs of slowing and adds another 423,000 sales to its sales total. That’s still more than double the week’s second place finisher, Miley Cyrus‘ “We Can’t Stop,” and it makes Thicke’s bid for Song of the Summer that much harder to deny. “Blurred Lines” has sold 2.8 million copies so far, and is poised to cross the 3 million sales mark this week. Remember Daft Punk‘s “Get Lucky,” which everyone thought was going to steal the Song of the Summer crown? It’s at No. 5 this week, with 1.8 million sales in the bag. Is anyone going to step up to challenge #THICKE?

KID ROCK CLIMBS:Kid Rock‘s 2012 album Rebel Soul crossed the gold sales marker last month, seven months after its release – a slow starter by Rock’s standards. Last week, the self-styled Son of Detroit launched his “$20 Best Night Ever” tour – bolstered by $20 tickets and slashed prices on beer and merch – and watched the album shoot up 116 spots to land at No. 80 on this week’s chart. Rock, ever the sly marketer, is using Shriners to sell his CD at his shows, and he recently told Howard Stern he nets more than 1,000 sales per night on tour via his red-capped friends. Rebel Soul sold 4,300 copies this week, a 149 percent boom from the week prior – the biggest increase for any album in the Top 100 – to bring its total to 510,000. Shrine on!